Sunday, October 3, 2010

Water Advocates is a remarkable water NGO that promotes Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) across the globe. From their newsletter, "Water Advocates is the first US-based nonprofit organization dedicated solely to increasing American support for worldwide access to safe, affordable and sustainable supplies of drinking water and adequate sanitation. Our purpose is advocacy, not implementation of projects. We provide an additional voice for those around the world with no access to adequate drinking water and sanitation.

Water Advocates does not seek funding for itself from the general public. Instead it encourages Americans to sponsor water projects directly, to donate to water projects of their choice, and to encourage government officials to augment foreign development aid for efficient safe drinking water and sanitation programs".

Water Advocates champion, John Sauer, the Director of Communications, is tireless in his campaign, and the newsletter that he compiles serves as testimony regarding his intensity on water issues. One can "meet" John by visiting the "WaterCube" TV where he is the first person interviewed while attending World Water Week in Stockholm this year. If one is serious about international water issues in their many forms, as well as where alot of money is being invested, John's newsletter is a great resource.

The connection to greywater? Surprisingly, the newsletter announced that UNICEF has produced a manual called Greywater Reuse in Rural Schools. I was surprised because greywater was being promoted as part of the WASH campaign, unlike in many places such as Oregon, where greywater is considered by some to be "unsanitary" and a "threat to public health". I liked this manual because it provides a great summary of simple pre-treatment and treatment processes.

Find a project to donate your time and financial resources to as Water Advocates promotes. Having trouble locating one? Visit the preeminent hydrophilanthropist at WaterWired to find one. Greywater fits into them all.

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About Me

This blog was an experiment in social media and networking for a class that I teach in water science and policy. You will find more than 300 postings here searchable through the key word search bar. Want to learn more about cool greywater equipment, type "gadgets"; "living building", etc. Type in "permit" to learn more about permitting greywater systems. Opinions are my own even though the blog is used as a learning resource. Thanks for reading.

Colors of the blog logo?

The Peace Flag? The Gay Pride Flag? All good guesses, but no, it is the Cuzco Wiphala which I first observed in 1984 in Cuzco at the Inti Raymi festival. It consists of seven horizontal stripes representing the colors of the rainbow. The significance and meanings for each color are as follows:

Red: The Earth and people

Orange: Society and culture

Yellow: Energy

Green: Natural resources

Light Blue or White: Time

Blue: The heavens

Purple: Self-determination

Colors of Water

Clearwater many times thought to have come from a fresh water spring. Because water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen and both elements are invisible gases is a reason why water has crystal clear appearance.Tough to find these days in a natural state. Easy to find in a manufactured state and trapped in a bottle.

Whitewater, historical reference to noncorrupt activities by the Clintons pursued by a former special prosecutor. Sometimes also refers to water with lots of air or dissolved gas.Also connected to rapidly flowing water in rivers where lots of fun can be had in a multitude of floating devices. With incompetence in one arena, and competent treatment in the others, these waters remain harmless.

Greywater or graywater has many different definitions, I guess some could say “quasi conspiratorial” if one considers that graywater is neutral between whitewater and blackwater, but my previous job as a volunteer for the State of Oregon focused on HB 2080 which defines graywater as: “shower and bath waste water, bathroom sink waste water, kitchen sink waste water and laundry waste water. Graywater does not mean toilet or garbage wastes or waste water contaminated with soiled diapers.”No grey area in this definition.

Blackwater has many forms including a name formerly connected to a defense contractor who apparently liked the color of water in the Great Dismal Swamp of North Carolina. Also a Doobie Brothers. But in the water world, it is untreated wastewater from both urban domestic use and rural septic tanks. Blackwater also occurs in Australia as organic material, such as leaves and bark, that is washed into the river by a flood thus causing oxygen depletion. It can also be derived from dissolved manganese in groundwater and commonly stains porcelain fixtures.Peaceful means of treatment ultimately prevail against this colored water, but use extreme caution, some variants can be deadly.

Brownwater or the tea-colored water famous in swampy areas along the Mississippi River and Amazon River where rotting vegetation and humic and fulvic acids abound.

Greenwater is precipitation water infiltrated into the soil (so-called ‘‘green water’’) made famous by the grand dame of water mavens Malin Falkinmark of the Stockholm International Water Institute. Also greywater that has been disinfected for later use for irrigation becomes green.

Bluewater is water withdrawn and water consumed (withdrawal minus return flow to the river system) from rivers, lakes and aquifers for the purpose of irrigation.Also found as the water in nuclear power plants where spent rods are stored, but the subject of a different blog (wherever that might be).

Redwater is common when the water purveyor is tinkering with piping network, especially old piping networks, where sediment and rust are stirred up during servicing.Can also be a function of iron bacteria in water.

Purplewater is sometimes thought derived from Purple Rain popularized by the performer once known as Prince, but now referred to as recycled water from wastewater treatment plants conveyed in purple colored pipes for non-potable uses.

Yellowwater is a variant of yellow snow, derived from “where the huskies go" (homage to Frank Zappa).